Switch adapted to rest on a table or other flat surface



W. D. HALL Dec. 15, 1964 SWITCH ADAPTED TO REST ON A TABLE OR OTHER FLAT SURFACE Filed May 5, 1960 5 hlll'lkl 1 H a H I, 5, L I I r\ [M 1 1 11L 1 m b I I n, 7 V VV I V I V O 4 IIIllI/I/ III/Ill! INVENTOR William D Hall BY 0km /im ATTORNEY 5 United States Patent 3,161,738 SWITCH ADAPTEI) TO REST ON A TABLE OR OTHER FLAT SURFACE William D. Hall, 5112 Westpath Court, Washington 16, DC. Filed May 5, 1960, Ser. No. 27,147 2 Claims. (Cl. 200-61.52)

This invention relates to switches and has for its primary object the provision of a switch that can rest on a table or other flat surface and be easily operated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a switch that can easily adjust the current to the load to provide different power outputs to the load.

Still another object is to provide an attractive switch.

Yet an additional object is to provide a switch that may be operated in a novel or tricky way, and WlllCh 1s therefore a gift item or conversation piece.

Other objects of the invention will appear as this description proceeds.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior copending application, Serial No. 833,222 filed August 12, 1959, entitled Manually Operable Mercury Switch, and now abandoned, and is also a continuation in part of my prior copending application Serial No. 862,602, filed December 29, 1959, entitled Manually Operable Electrical Switch. The first of these two applications shows a switch box adapted to rest on a table or other flat surface, the box being adapted to be tipped to different inclinations. The box contains a switch sensitive to difierent in clinations for turning an appliance on and ofi when the switch is tipped to two different inclinations respectively.

This application contemplates an ornamental switch box having three or more sides on which it may rest. The box includes switch means whereby when the box is on one side the switch means applies full power to the load (for example a lamp), while less than full power is applied when the box is on a second side. The switch means disconnects the load from the source of power when the bix is on its third side.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a schematic drawing of one form of the invention.

FIGURE 3 shows one practical embodiment of the switch elements of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 3a shows the relative positions of the two mercury switches of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of a low cost form of the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

In FIGURE 1 there is shown a conventional wall outlet 7 impressed with 115 volt sixty cycle alternating current, and an electric lamp 8 having a wall plug 9.

The switch of this invention employs a cubical box or container 10 suitably ornamented (not shown) and a two wire cord 11 leading from the center of the rear side, said cord terminating in a series plug 12 hereafter described. The front side of box 10 has three indicia Brite, Dim and Off. When the cube 10 is rotated so that Brite is up, the lamp 8 is connected directly to the outlet 7 whereby the lamp burns at full brilliance. When the box 10 is in the position shown (with Dim up) an impedance (condenser, resistor, inductor or halfwave rectifier) is inserted in series with the lamp and causes the same to burn dimly. When the box 10 is rotated to place Off up, the lamp is turned off.

FIGURE 2 shows one form for the switches within box 10. Two mercury switches 13 and 14 are mounted at right angles to each other so that mercury switch 13 ice closes the circuit therethrough when the Brite side is up as shown. When the box 10 is rotated degrees to place Dim up, mercury switch 14 closes its circuit and mercury switch 13 open its circuit. When the box 10 is rotated 90 degrees more to place the off side 7 up, both mercury switches are off and the lamp is disconnected from the source of power.

When the Brite" side is up and therefore switch 13 closed, there is a low impedance circuit from the wall outlet 7 to the lamp 8 through switch 13. When the Dim side is up and hence switch 14 on the circuit to the lamp passes through impedance 15 which may be a resistor, condenser, rectifier, or inductor. This will reduce the power delivered to the lamp.

A practical embodiment of the circuit of FIGURE 2 is shown in FIGURE 3 where two mercury buttons of the type used in mercury wall switches are mounted adjacent each other. Mercury switch 13 has a central ceramic partition passageway 13a connecting the mercury that contacts metal cups 13c and 13d. Mercury switch 14 is of similar construction only rotated by 90 degrees as shown in FIGURE 3a. The two mercury switches 13 and 14 are mounted in fixed relation to the casing or box It and to each other and are rotated about axis AA when the box is rotated about that axis.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of the invention which is lower in cost. The cubical box 40 has three brass plates 41, 42 and 43 of equal size, all mounted in the casing 40 and in fixed realtion thereto and to each other. Wires 11a and 11b respectively connect to plates 42 and 43 while impedance 15 connects from plate 41 to plate 43.

When the Brite side of box 40 is up, the brass rod 44 connects plates 42 and 43 and directly connects the lamp to the wall outlet by means of wires 11a and 11b.

When the Dim side of box 40 is up, the rod 44 connects plates 41 and 42 and the circuit then extends from wire 11a, plate 42, rod 44, plate 41, impedance 15, plate 43, Wire 11b. Hence, the lamp burns dimly. When the Off side is up the rod 44 is out of contact with plate 42 and the circuit is open and the lamp off.

In FIGURE 4, for example, the three plates 41, 42 and 43 comprise an enclosure means for the rod 44, and confine the rod to a limited portion of the box or casing 40.

I claim to have invented:

1. A switch for remote control of an alternating current appliance comprising a box having at least three sides on which it may rest, said box having three different inclinations respectively when resting on the three sides a half-Wave rectifier in the box means in the box and carried thereby responsive to the three dilierent inclinations for providing an open circuit in the circuit to the appliance when the box is in the first of said inclinations, for connecting said half-wave rectifier in series with the appliance and thereby partially energizing the appliance when the box is in the second of said inclinations, and for fully energizing the appliance when the appliance is in the third of said inclinations, and means for remotely connecting the above-named means in series with the appliance, said first-named means including three contact plates and a round metal member which rolls to difierent positions in said three inclinations respectively to provide the three controlling relations.

2. A switch comprising a box having at least three sides on which it may rest, a freely movable conducting member in the box, three spaced elements each fixed to the box located about the movable element so that when the box is resting on one side the member is in contact with first and second elements, when the box is resting on another side the member is in contact with the second and third elements and when the box is on a 3 third side the member is in contact With the first and third elements, at least two of said elements being con ducting, and remote control means including an electric cord connected to said conducting elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,971,585 Soreng Aug. 28, 1934 2,142,107 Brown Jan. 3, 1939 2,480,827 Armstrong Sept-6, 1949 2,484,092 Hopgobd Oct. 11, 1949 Newell Sept. 3, 1 957 Varner Nov. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 3, 1932 France Feb. 19, 1934 Germany Aug. 12, 1935 OTHER REFERENCES 1 Wood: abstract of application Serial No. 203,599,

published October 14, 1952, 663. 

1. A SWITCH FOR REMOTE CONTROL OF AN ALTERNATING CURRENT APPLIANCE COMPRISING A BOX HAVING AT LEAST THREE SIDES ON WHICH IT MAY REST, SAID BOX HAVING THREE DIFFERENT INCLINATIONS RESPECTIVELY WHEN RESTING ON THE THREE SIDES A HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER IN THE BOX MEANS IN THE BOX AND CARRIED THEREBY RESPONSIVE TO THE THREE DIFFERENT INCLINATIONS FOR PROVIDING AN OPEN CIRCUIT IN THE CIRCUIT TO THE APPLIANCE WHEN THE BOX IS IN THE FIRST OF SAID INCLINATIONS, FOR CONNECTING SAID HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER IN SERIES WITH THE APPLIANCE AND THEREBY PARTIALLY ENERGIZING THE APPLIANCE WHEN THE BOX IS IN THE SECOND OF SAID INCLINATIONS, AND FOR FULLY ENERGIZING THE APPLIACE WHEN THE APPLIANCE IS IN THE THIRD OF SAID INCLINATIONS, AND MEANS FOR REMOTELY CONNECTING THE ABOVE-NAMED MEANS IN SERIES WITH THE APPLIANCE, SAID FIRST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING THREE CONTACT PLATES AND A ROUND METAL MEMBER WHICH ROLLS TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN SAID THREE INCLINATIONS RESPECTIVELY TO PROVIDE THE THREE CONTROLLING RELATIONS. 